Various vehicles or implements that are configured for negotiating sloped terrain (such as hillside combines, excavation and construction equipment, military vehicles, etc.) may use leveling or tilt systems to level at least a portion of the vehicle (such as an operator cabin, a grain storage bin, etc.) while traversing the sloped terrain. Leveling systems can cause a portion of the vehicle to be tilted to produce the leveling desired. For example, one or more axles of a vehicle may be tilted, with one end of the axle extended away from the body of the vehicle while the other end of the axle is more or less fixed or is contracted toward the body of the vehicle. Such leveling systems often include techniques for sensing the slope of the terrain and then compensating for the slope by leveling portions of the vehicle while the vehicle is on the slope.
Many leveling systems have one or more leveling sensors (e.g., clinometers, tilt meters, etc.) that use gravity, for example, for sensing the slope of terrain. Common techniques for sensing a slope include the use of accelerometers, liquid capacitive devices, electronic devices, electrolytic devices, devices that include a gas bubble in a liquid, and pendulum devices. As the leveling sensors indicate the presence of a slope in the terrain being traversed, the leveling systems can compensate as much as they are capable.
Often, a particular leveling system has a limited capability to compensate for a slope being traversed. Also, different leveling system designs have different capabilities and limitations. For example, the tilting of axles, and so forth, can be constrained by the design and construction of the chassis, frame, suspension, drive train, body components, and the like, of the vehicle.